MARE OF EASTOWN

For seven weeks in the spring of 2021, HBO's riveting miniseries Mare of Easttown was a must-see series. Viewers were entranced by the dark, realistic murder mystery and its often gasp-inducing twists and turns. The fascinating characters and complex mystery brought the show success, but it resonated more than much in its genre because of its attention to detail. Everything was designed to feel completely authentic, from the Eastern Pennsylvania accents that Kate Winslet and the rest of the cast mastered to the hilly, verdant topography of the fictitious Easttown. But even though the production did shoot in the mid-Atlantic region where the story is set, it took a significant amount of VFX work to place the final touches on the locations to best serve the script and evoke the mood. That's where Curated came in. 

CLIENT HBO

CREATOR BRAD INGELSBY

DIRECTOR CRAIG ZOBEL

Curated VFX Supervisor Ed Mendez oversaw the process of shooting live-action plates (with help from Bob Lowery and freelancer Randy Little), while VFX Supervisor Cristin Pescosolido led the 2D and 3D artists, compositors, modelers, and animators -- all of whom work remotely within Powerhouse's impressive pipeline on the painting, modeling, animation and compositing work. 

Among the effects, Curated took on were adding trees, foliage, sky, and buildings to the exteriors of Eastern Pennsylvania environs to help transform them into the locations described in Creator Brad Ingelsby's intricately constructed scripts. 

Before
After

This started with Mendez working with the second unit team to film plates of the areas that would be comped into various shots. He also took a large number of still images to be used as a basis for subsequent matte painting. A great deal of the shooting was done in Pennsylvania's Delaware County, but, according to Mendez, "We also used a lot of the nearby Manayunk area because it had the kind of hilly look that the director, Craig Zobel, wanted. The exterior shots around the college used the actual Gerard College, which we then combined with photographs and some 3D builds and matte work to add to surrounding areas to align with the filmmakers' vision." 

BEFORE
AFTER

Curated's task grew significantly when Covid hit and threw a new challenge at the filmmakers: Interiors that had been set for shooting became unavailable almost overnight. Scheduled shoots inside people's homes, the college, a police station, and more had to be rethought. "The few places where they could shoot inside," Mendez recalls, "had to be used many times to represent different locations," which meant more VFX work to enhance both the interiors and whatever was going on outside doorways and windows.

Before
After

The show also used very long takes to enhance suspenseful scenes that follow characters from outside a location to confront danger inside. These shots would involve a significant amount of invisible VFX work, combining the actor with real and CG elements, all seamlessly integrated into the takes, so the viewer is never pulled out of the action.

The show became a worldwide success and won many awards, including four Emmys. Mare of Easton is streaming on HBO Max.

SENIOR VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR / ON-SET SUPERVISOR ED MENDEZ

VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR CRISTINA PESCOSOLIDO

VISUAL EFFECTS PRODUCER ANNA TOMAYA

VFX EXECUTIVE PRODUCER RYAN CUNNINGHAM